What’s more important – saving the planet or looking neat and tidy? It sounds like a no-brainer but Flatchat was at a forum organised by Willoughby council a couple of weeks ago where that issue was hotly debated. Willoughby’s Director of Sustainability, Dr Hayden Washington, was speaking about the many ways apartment blocks can do their bit in the war against global warming when the vexed question of drying your washing on your balcony came up.
A couple of the 100 or so attendees claimed that it was illegal. Others were against washing being dried on balconies on aesthetic grounds: “We don’t want our apartments to look like downtown Bangkok,” said one local (apparently oblivious to the encouragingly large number of Asian residents who had turned out). But drying your laundry isn’t illegal in Willoughby or anywhere else unless there’s a council by-law forbidding it. Admittedly, most buildings have their own by-laws against it but even then, these can be changed by owners at a general meeting. The standard by-laws suggested by the Office of Fair Trading merely say that you can’t dry your washing on your balcony without the Owners’ Corporation’s permission – and they are optional, not obligatory.
Considering our overabundance of sun and the amount of energy that would be saved from unused tumble dryers, how bad would it be for apartment blocks to designate a couple of days a week when residents could dry their washing on their balconies? Even better, how about setting up drying areas? The other myth that came out of the seminar was that you can’t use sinking funds for improvements, specifically making your building more environmentally friendly. That’s not necessarily so. While sinking funds are intended to pay for the upkeep and refurbishment of strata buildings, there are many ways of repairing and replacing worn-out facilities that will also make them energy efficient. You don’t have to wait for your building to sink before you use your sinking fund.
Hats off to Willoughby for organising this, their second conference on apartment living event. With the State government planning even more apartment blocks, it makes life easier for everyone if their residents are informed and engaged.